Amber's Task
by boshrocks
Summary: Clark and Bart meet another super and she has a job for themtake down 33.1. Crossover with other superhero universes. i suck at summaries...it's way better than it sounds. let me know what you think
1. Amber's Arrival

Clark sighed and stretched his shoulder as he lifted a hay bale onto the truck.

"Problems with the almighty Clark Kent? What's wrong Boy Scout?" a voice said from behind him.

Turning Clark saw a young man with sandy brown hair and a cheeky arrogant smirk.

"Bart Allen. Figured you'd turn up sooner or later."

"You don't sound too pleased to see me."

"Not that I don't enjoy your company, because I do, but I'm just a little curious as to what you're doing here." Clark sat down on the truck and Bart leant on it next to him.

Bart chuckled. "I'm here for a visit. Needed a break. So how are things with everyone?"

"Good. Mom's annoyed that Lionel Luther won't leave her alone and I think we both know how dad would like that, if he knew about it. She's keeping a lot of things secret from him these days. Lex is good, still baling me out of any trouble I happen to get myself into while I'm-"

"Off being a hero? How about Chloe and Pete?"

"They're cool. Pete knows about me, because I told him, and somehow Chloe figured it out."

"Wouldn't put it past her, she's a clever girl. Speaking of the fairer sex, how are things with Lana?" Bart waggled his eyebrows annoyingly.

Clark restrained a scowl and forced a smile. "Okay, she has no idea about either my abilities or my feelings."

"Come on! You've got to tell her!" Bart said disbelievingly.

"I can't!"

Bart punched him lightly on the arm. "Wimp!" Bart hopped up from the truck and ran off. Clark chuckled and then followed.

Busy over some washing up Martha Kent glanced up and saw the high speed race and the large cloud of dust which followed them. She looked on in amusement as the two coloured blurs flashed and darted around Chloe's car which had just pulled up containing her and Pete. They got out and watched the blurred boys zip around them.

"Uh, hi guys." Chloe said trying not to laugh as they circled her making her hair almost stand on end. She quickly tried to keep it in order.

"Give it up Clark! You know you can't catch me!" Bart called over his shoulder as they whipped away from Chloe.

He then tripped over a concealed rock and fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Clark screeched to a halt and knelt beside him. They were quite near the red truck.

"Are you alright?" Chloe said as she and Pete rushed up to them.

"Hurt my ankle. Can you scan it for me?" Bart looked up at Clark who obliged.

"No break, I think it's a twist or a sprain."

Jonathan failed to see them and backed the truck up hitting his son in the back of the head. They had also failed to notice what he was doing. Clark toppled forward and Jonathan looked out in alarm.

"Jesus!" he swore.

"What's wrong sir?" Pete asked.

"I think the brakes failed. I can't stop the truck!"

Jonathan jumped out of the truck to stop it rolling down the hill onto the two stricken boys. But however much he and Pete tried to stop its progress they couldn't stop one of the wheels driving gently over Bart's arm. He cried out and Jonathan and Pete tried to push it back off his arm.

Without Clark's help however they couldn't do it.

"Need a hand?" a female voice said from behind them.

In a second the woman was at the truck and was lifting it solo off them. She stood there with the whole truck in one hand three feet off the ground. She walked away from the group with it and set it down at an angle to the hill so that it wouldn't roll down it.

"I'll fix those brakes for you later if you want." she said casually wandering back over to them.

Kneeling down beside Bart she put her hands on his ankle. A bluish-white gas came out of them and went into his foot.

"Wow, no pain."

"You're healed." She told him in a bored voice. She turned to Clark and put her hand on his forehead. He woke up with a start.

"What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Bart said looking at the woman in confusion. "Who are you?"

She was a tall woman, almost taller than Clark. She had long brown hair with one plume of ginger that ran from the roots to the tip of her hair. Her eyes were a startling green and she was by no means ugly. She wore a slick pair of black jeans with a brown Native American style top and a three quarter length brown leather coat. She held herself with an elegance and ease which showed that it didn't do to mess with her.

"I'm an urban legend. They call me Amber." She spoke with a clipped English accent and a deep voice for a woman.

"Wait, I've heard of you." Chloe said. "Whenever anyone's in danger in the world she shows up and fixes it within seconds of the incident beginning. No one knows how she does it. I heard she can stop hurricanes and tidal waves single handed. There are pictures of her going back as far as the turn of the century."

"And paintings before that. You go to the national portrait gallery in London and you will find at least two paintings of me, from different centuries."

"How come?" Bart asked.

"I'm not like you. I'm not even human."

"I take it you're one of the good guys, then?" Clark asked cautiously.

"One of the best."


	2. Amber's Abilities

"Enlighten us; what can you do?" Bart said eagerly.

"Well, I have control over the elements, can create storms, my eyes see through everything, I have the power to heal any injury or illness, I am probably stronger than Clark, and I could probably outrun you. From what I saw, you can't run all that fast."

"You don't know what I can do!" Bart shouted, incensed.

"Yes I do. I am also telepathic. I only have to look at someone to have a full profile of them."

"Wow, we could use someone like you at the Torch. So, what else you got?" Chloe said looking very impressed.

"I can communicate with animals, I'm telekinetic, I have an IQ of 275, I have the hearing of a bat and the eyes of a hawk, I am a blackbelt in all forms of martial arts and I'm a pro wrestler."

"In other words, don't mess with her." Pete said chuckling.

"Impressive list. Anything else?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"I also have the Kiss. I can either kill someone with a single kiss, or give them new life. It can also tranquilise people or give them strength. I just have to concentrate on the one I want, and be fast enough to do it without them noticing."

"Do you have control over this?"

"Of course. I have complete control over all of them. I can also talk my way into anything or out of anything. I have a skeleton made of iron and a skin that's tougher than dragon scales. You can literally throw me into an erupting volcano and I'll bounce back unscathed without a single mark on me. Trust me; Madam Rouge did that to me once."

"Madam Rouge?"

"She's my biggest nemesis, at the moment. She's been trying to kill me for years because I have a nasty habit of foiling all her plans for world domination. Come on Clark, walk with me, talk with me. I have a present for you. A little bribery you might say." They left the group and wandered over to the barn.

"What do you want from me?"

"Just your allegiance. And some help in case I need it breaking into LutherCorp."

"Lex Luther is my friend. He's like my brother."

"Wake up, LutherCorp is the enemy. How long is it going to take for you to realise this?"

"Why do you want to take them down?"

Amber plopped down on the sofa and Clark stood by the window facing her. "I believe you've heard of the project. It's 33.1. They're testing on some friends of mine. They're heroes but somehow they can't break free. LutherCorp is picking off superheroes, they won't ever stop. Clark, they caught Victor Stone, and AC. As well as Raven Roth, Robin, Batgirl, Storm, Wolverine, Black Canary and Beast Boy. And that's only the ones I know about. There could be more."

"I've never heard of most of those."

"The hero community is vast and continually expanding. Batman is trying to find out their whereabouts and Wonder Woman is undercover in LutherCorp main office trying to find out what she can. I've got all the other supers on the case. The X-men are desperately trying to reclaim their own."

"X-men?"

"You really need to get out of Smallville." She got up and checked out the room, running her hand over surfaces. "They're a group. They deal with young supers, training them up to be superheroes. You help me with this, and I can guarantee the return of an old friend, who also happens to be one of us. You want Ryan back don't you?"

"You can bring him back?"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've brought someone back from the dead. One kiss and a bit of cultivating and Ryan will be back on his feet and tumour free. It's already en route. Few more days should crack it."

"I have never met anyone like you."

She smirked complacently. "I get that a lot."

"So if you're so great, why do you need Clark's help with this mission?" Bart said from the stairs.

"I knew you'd follow us. I have a plan to get them out, but I might need someone on the outside who can get in and help if the situation gets out of hand. They won't be able to stop me easily but I don't know what anti-hero weapons they have in there."

"But aren't you as invincible as Clark?"

"Even more so; I don't have his green kryptonite allergy."

"So what is your Achilles' heel?" Clark asked curiously.

"I don't really know. I don't think I have any."

"Everybody has a weakness."

Amber looked at Bart in slight surprise. "If I have one I haven't found it yet. Can I count on your support and allegiance? The fate of all the supers rests with us getting them out and shutting the experiments down. They'll come after you soon. They'll experiment on you."

"I'll think about it." Clark said turning his back on her.

"Well, when you decide come and find me. I'll be fixing the brakes on that truck. May as well make myself useful." She didn't bother to walk down the stairs. Instead she hopped lightly over the rail and jumped down to the ground, expelling only a light thud and a small shower of dust.

"Hey Amber!" Bart called after her. She stopped and turned back to look up at them. "You do know that it's more polite to use the stairs, don't you?"

She chuckled a little. "I know, but it takes so long." She said before sauntering out of the barn.

"Dude, that chick is a glorified version of you." Bart said to Clark as they watched her cross to the truck and remove her coat before sliding under the truck to check it out.

"I know. She could be dangerous."

"She's way in control. Are we going to help?"

Clark looked at him. "I wanna help, but who knows what might happen. It could be a trap for all we know."

"Maybe. We only just met her."

"And why would she come looking for us? If there really are all these other supers then why choose us?"

"I don't know, Clark. She said she needed someone to watch her back. Maybe she needs some speed on her side."

"But she played down your speed. Said you weren't that fast."

"Hey Speedy Gonzalez!" Amber called up to them. "If you're really so interested in how fast I can go then why don't we have a race?"

"You'd never beat me." Bart called down tauntingly.

"Wanna bet? Okay, first to Metropolis and back wins the race, and proves who's faster." Amber stopped working on the truck and wiped her hands, leaning on it casually.

Bart shook his head. "No. You'd lose in a heartbeat. And I wouldn't want you to worry your pretty little head about that."

"What are you chicken?" she stretched her shoulders. They heard several bones click. "Tell you what; I'll give you a head start, so it's fairer."

Bart disappeared from the window and appeared by her side. Clark followed a moment later. "You're so full of yourself." Bart said.

"I just know my strengths. I warn you though; I'm a thousand times faster than the speed of light."

Pause.

"Okay…she's way faster than me."

Chloe and Pete sniggered behind them.


	3. Amber's Surprise

"How old are you?" Chloe asked, distracting her.

Amber leant her head back soaking in the last of the sunlight. "I'm not sure. As soon as I was created I was frozen in amber. That's why people call me Amber. I was trapped there for probably a couple of hundred years." Clark got the feeling there was something else she wasn't telling them.

"Are you immortal?"

She turned her head and looked at Chloe lazily. "You could say that. You would not believe the things I've seen in my life."

"I can imagine. To us, they're history, but to you, they're memories." Clark trailed off, trying to get her to reveal some more.

"I've travelled the world, survived wars, stopped some of them single handed. And I might have started a few."

"You started some wars?" Pete asked trying to look disapproving and failing miserably.

"Not intentionally. It's no wonder he rejected me."

"Who?" Clark asked gently.

"It doesn't matter." She said with reserve, turning her face away from them as if troubled by a bad memory. "I have to go." She said quickly and then zoomed off.

"Strange girl." Bart said watching the blur vanish in the direction of the town.

"She's hiding." Chloe said looking very sorry for Amber.

"I feel like she wants to get close to us, but something's not letting her. Should we trust her?" Clark asked the group turning to them as they perched on the truck.

"Let's see if we can find out some more about her. Anyone else notice how shifty she got when we started prying into her past?" Chloe said.

They all agreed that they had.

"Anyone want to go to the Talon for some coffee? Give Clark a chance to stare at Lana some more as she serves us coffee." Pete said clapping Clark on the back and not noticing the hurt look Chloe flashed Clark as he said it.

Ten minutes later Chloe parked her car and the four of them wandered into the coffee house laughing at something Bart had said.

Lana was handing a cup to Lex Luther as they entered and they noticed Amber sitting at the counter eating a cookie and looking as though something very serious was eating her.

"Hey Lex." Clark said going up to the counter. "How's it going?"

"Cant' complain." Lex grinned. "Got a special delivery this morning which you might like to see."

"What is it?"

"An early complete version of the bible, with all the books the Vatican hid. It's beautifully illustrated." He leant a little closer to Clark. "And there are some more symbols."

"Why would an early version of the bible have those?" Clark vaguely noticed that Amber had shifted at the mention of the bible.

"I don't know. On the cover is a very strange one." Lex trailed off noticing a tattoo on the back of Amber's left hand as she held out some money for coffee from Lana. She seemed to sense his gaze and covered it. "Clark, that girl has the same symbol."

"Who? Amber?"

"You know her?"

"We just met."

"Clark, are you going to order anything, or are you just going to stand there?" Lana asked shortly, glaring at him playfully.

Amber sniggered. Lex tried not to.

"Four coffees please." He said meekly, blushing a little.

'She's just waiting for you to ask her out, you know.' Clark heard Amber's voice whisper in his mind. 'She wants you.'

"Thanks Lana." Amber got up and leant closer to Clark as she passed. "I don't need to be telepathic to see that she digs you. Do everyone a favour and ask her out. Trust me, you'll be much happier for it." she hissed in his ear. She looked at Lex coldly and then swept out of the Talon.

Clark went back to the group and vaguely noticed that Lex had followed Amber out.

"Lex Luther?" Amber said turning to face him with ten feet between them in the empty street.

"You know me?"

"I know you have something of mine. And I want it back." She said coldly.

"What do I have of yours?"

"My bible."

"That's yours?"

"I can tell you what the symbols mean, and so can Clark. He's been able to read them for months."

"How can he read them?"

"Are you going to tell him, Amber? Are you going to reveal Clark's secret?" a female voice said from Amber's shoulder.

The woman was as tall as Amber, but with jet black hair and black eyes. They looked similar. She wore a dress that seemed to be made of black cobwebs. She wore a vast amount of black eye makeup and her lips matched her eyes.

"Lilith, I would know you anywhere. The stench of Purgatory lingers in your veins." Amber didn't even bother to turn.

"You try living there year in year out."

"Purgatory?" Lex looked very confused.

The doors to the Talon opened and Clark, Bart, Chloe, Pete and Lana came out to watch the scene.

"Can you not guess, Lex? That bible is my story."

"Our story." Lilith insisted.

"You called her Lilith. Wasn't that the name of Adam's first wife?"

"Very good Luther. But shall I reveal who the second wife of Adam is?" Lilith sneered at Amber who turned to face her.

"You tell them that, and I'll tell _him_." Amber threatened. "Remember, we were sworn under the tree."

"Everyone knows that Eve was his second wife." Chloe put in.

"No, she was his third. She was his second." Lilith pointed at Amber, who groaned.

"Amber? Is this true?"

"Yes Clark, it's true. God had a little trouble creating woman. First he made her too evil…in fact he made the mother of Satan." Amber glared at Lilith.

"If I'm his mother, you're his aunt." Lilith teased. "Besides, I'm not nearly as evil as he is."

Amber turned back to the group. "God condemned his creation. She is the mother of evil and the ruler of Purgatory. His next attempt was me. He tipped the scale the wrong way however and made me too good. He then froze me in amber and hid me in the Tree of Knowledge. I still have the amber…what's left of it." she indicated her amber necklace with the strand of red kryptonite. "Then he made Eve. And then he got it right, he found the balance of both of us and made it human. A good woman, with a strand of evil. There, now you know my story. I am as old as time, but not quite as old as her." Amber smirked at Lilith.

"I'm not that much older than you, sister."


End file.
